Another High School Story
by Miss Nanami-chan
Summary: High school. One would say it's hard, difficult-challenging even! Full of drama and hormones and craziness. Now, add a group of teens with the unfortunate penchant for attracting trouble and gangs. Enter Aerinn Sweet. New girl from rainy Ame. "...and I thought my life was complicated before." [ON HIATUS... of sorts]


**Naruto Fan Fiction!**

 **High School AU!**

 _(Title)_

 **" Another High School Story"**

 **A/N: This has just been** _ **sitting**_ **on my computer and I decided, '** _ **Screw it!**_ **' and posted. I wrote this** _ **waaay**_ **before I started on 'A Song for Them' so please forgive any errors that you may find.**

 **This is should be treated as a One-Shot because I don't plan on writing a Chapter Two anytime soon.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: " Hot Starts and Fresh Ramen"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Naruto' or any of the cannon characters! This is purely the work of my strange, strange imagination.**

 **WARNING! RATED T! For those foul mouthed teenagers.**

* * *

 _Beep-Beep-Beep-Be-_ _ **SMACK!**_

 _'Damn alarm.'_

I lift one heavy eyelid open to spy at the numbers displayed on the bane of my early morning existence.

 **5:37 a.m.**

 _'...ugh.'_

I pull off the covers clinging to my body and immediately regret the decision. It wasn't cold per se, but it wasn't warm either. Slowly, I lift my body out of the oh-so comfy bed and shuffle towards the kitchen in search of my liquid salvation.

I sat down on the stool at the kitchen island, holding my fresh cup of dark roasted magic and I sigh in utter bliss at the smell, it was then I became unnecessarily alarmed that I didn't immediately recognize my surroundings.

I was sitting in a smaller kitchen than I was accustomed to, the floor was made up of various pieces of pottery in a sporadic patterns fitting together to make a mosaic of orange, red and yellow tiles. The paint on the walls were a soft shade of yellow with many different sizes of pots and pans covering wall nearest the stove, the stove itself had a layer of brick behind it, and was much larger than it I was used to.

After a minute of silent panicking I remembered that I had moved out from my home in the city during the summer and into the family vacation home a couple towns over.

 _'I live in_ _ **Konoha**_ _now.'_

I then berated myself for being such a absentminded ninny.

When I finished my coffee and I was suitably awake, I walked to my room and into my closet to dress for my morning jog. After dressing in my black athletic shorts and bra I threw on a loose navy tank top and pulled up my black legwarmers. I tied my messy reddish-brown hair into a low bun, grabbed my keys, phone and earbuds only to stop at the front door to throw on my favorite running shoes.

After double checking that I had everything of import, I spun around, locked the door behind me and started a leisurely stroll down my driveway, flipping through the songs on my phone before settling on my ' _Good Day_ ' playlist.

Soon the sounds of ' _Tongue Tied_ ' by ' _Grouplove_ ' played as I started an easy paced jog.

 _" Ohhhh! Take me to your best friend's house, goin' round this roundabout, ohhhh yeah~ Take me to your best friend's house, I loved 'ya then and I loved 'ya now, ohhhh yeah~"_

The world around me was painted grey-blue as the sun had just began to make itself known over the horizon, the skies were clear and the grass along the dirt road was green and damp from the light rain we had from the night before. It felt as if the world was fresh and new.

 _'It's gonna be a beautiful day.'_

It wasn't long before I reached the end of the dirt path and I started down on the cement sidewalk. Since I finished moving here I made it a personal mission to familiarize myself with the town while running on my morning jogs. It's only been a week since I unpacked the last box and set up all the rooms to my preference. So far, I had managed to memorize the route to the grocery store, supply store and library.

 _'Yeeeah, the school semester starts up in a few days and I have no idea where my new school is... I should probably fix that.'_

So! With a goal in mind I headed out towards the center of town to find something that could direct me to my desired location. I passed through the outlying neighborhood when ' _Believer_ ' by ' _Imagine Dragons_ ' started to buzz in my ears, and I sped up my pace to brisk.

 _" First things first, I'mma say all the words inside my head, I'm fired up and tired of the way things have been-oh-ooooh! The way things have been-oh-ooooh!"_

When I reached the center of town I could see all of the shops getting ready for day, the bakery pulling out fresh loaf's and displaying their sweets, it put a small smile on my face. You couldn't get this kind of atmosphere in the big city.

I scanned my surroundings, the town was designed as huge rows of circles that expanded outwards with the city hall at the very center, all the streets in town lead here, so I figured this was the best place to start. City hall itself was a red-bricked dome-shaped building, with a huge sign that hung above the front door that read: _'Konoha City Hall.'_

The inner most ring of town was all walking stone streets, if you drove you'd have to park a little ways away and walk the rest. Which was kind of refreshing in a way, coming from a big city where you could hardly spot a path that _wasn't_ paved over was a rare sight, let alone a street where you didn't have to worry about getting run down.

I decided to run the length of the inner ring to spot any directions to my desired location, I started down the right side. I passed by some food eateries and as I looked down the streets I spotted signs for the public library, an animal clinic, the police station, the mall and a hospital.

When ' _Mr. Brightside_ ' by ' _The Killers_ ' started I'd made it half-way around before I spotted what I'd been looking for:

 _"Kishimoto Academy, 5 miles -"_

 _" Comin' outta my cage and I've been doin' just fine, gotta, gotta be down because I want it all. It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? It was only a kiss. It was only a kiss."_

With renewed vigor I ran, following the signs, the more streets I passed by the more space in between the buildings and stores there were, I ran another ten minutes before I reached the Academy grounds.

 _'Kishimoto Academy. Looks...big.'_

Here they taught from kindergarten to high school.

I won't lie. The buildings were impressive, not to mention expansive. I was definitely going to get lost in there a couple times. I pulled out my phone and marked my location on the map app so I can figure out a faster route. When I looked up, I spotted that the school gates were wide open.

 _'Probably for the teachers getting ready for the new school year.'_

Curiosity piqued, I headed through the open gates over to the buildings to find which one was the high school.

Thankfully, the first building had a detailed map in front, it clearly depicted the rest of the buildings on the grounds. The Academy grounds were designed in a half-circle, the place I was at currently was the Administrative Offices in the center. This'll be my first stop a week from now to get my class schedule.

Going from the right was the buildings for the Kindergarten and Elementary school for grades 1-5, then the Middle school, and on the left side of the Offices was the High school.

 _'Bingo.'_

Behind the Offices was the Football field, behind the Kinder and Elementary was a Playground, behind the Middle school a Baseball field and behind the High school were two Gyms, one of which had a swimming pool.

 _'Wow. This place is frickin' huge... I am sooo going to get lost...'_

Not wanting to take on this particular behemoth today, I pulled out my phone again to check the time.

 **6:32 a.m.**

 _'Not too bad.'_

I decided to run the rest of the way home. After getting lost on the way a couple of times I made it back around seven, and one hot shower later, I threw on some dark jeans, a white spaghetti strap and a tattered old blue tank top before stepping into the kitchen to cook up a wholesome breakfast of omelet and toasted banana nut muffin. I cleaned up the dishes after I finished and stepped into the middle of my living room and planted my hands firmly on my hips.

 _'...what now?'_

I looked toward the clock above the hallway.

 **7:54 a.m.**

I sighed.

I picked an unfinished cheesy romance novel off of the bookcase behind the couch and walked out to the front porch with my phone and portable speaker. After hooking up the phone to the speaker I settled into the wicker loveseat with my novel while ' _Adagio sostenuto_ ' from ' _Moonlight Sonata_ ' by ' _Beethoven_ ' started playing in the background.

* * *

 _ **A Couple Hours Later...**_

* * *

I don't know exactly how long I was there but I apparently fell asleep somewhere _after_ Rebecca was confronted by her twin brother Rob, for the reason why she'd been impersonating him all this time, and _before_ it was revealed that Thomas -Gasp!- didn't really die in the accident! That he had faked his death to get out of his forced engagement to Natalie, so he could be with his forbidden love, Rebecca!

 _'I sooo saw that plot twist coming like, three chapters ago...'_

Looking around with bleary eyes I realized the sun was almost gone from the sky and that I was _hungry_... I looked down at the clock on my phone.

 **6:47** _ **p.m.**_

 _'...I skipped lunch.'_

I collected my stuff and headed inside to raid my fridge. Peering in, I was unsatisfied with what I found... none of that sounded good and I didn't feel like cooking right now. It was then I remembered passing a Chinese restaurant this morning!

With a renewed energy and a hankering for dumpling soup, I slipped on my orange sneakers and snatched up my phone and wallet. I glanced in the mirror by the door and stopped.

 _'...should I get dressed or...?'_

I shrugged.

 _'Nah, I'll only be gone a little while_. _'_

After locking up I gave my bike a long, considering look before deciding against it and walking the way there. I'd probably be carrying my food back, I didn't really feel like socializing at all.

On the walk there I couldn't help but note how different the town looked in the evening compared to dawn.

The street were littered with all kinds of crowds, filling the air with warm chatter and the smells of vendors selling fast food out of their stalls, the lights decorating the shops had started to turn on and with the orange glow of the setting sun the place looked like something out of a story.

By the time I reached the Chinese place I was in something of a cheery mood. Luckily there wasn't much of a line and when I reached the counter I was met with a kind looking old man. I ordered a large bowl of dumpling soup and some eggrolls to-go, nothing too heavy considering I'd probably pass out again an hour after eating. He took my order with a smile and asked I take a seat while my food was being prepared.

I slid onto a stool by the counter and watched the cooks get busy in the kitchen, it wasn't long after I sat down that my attention was pulled away by a commotion in the booth across from me.

"It's _mine_ dammit!" yelled a boyish voice.

I turned and saw four teenage boys, two of them, chopsticks interlocked, were fighting over an... _eggroll._ No shit. They were fighting each other with chopsticks over an eggroll.

"Making a scene like this... you guys are such a _pain_." groaned one of the calmer of the four. He was sitting next to the wall and had dark eyes and black hair tied back in a low ponytail, he was wearing a grey tee under a faded green jacket. He looked two minutes from falling asleep.

" _He's_ the one making a scene!" yelled one of the chopstick warriors.

He was sitting next to the aisle and had dark eyes as well, and wild dark brown hair styled like a particularly unruly mop, but what was interesting was red paint/tattoo's on the sides of his face, wearing a baggy black V-neck and blue jeans. He was... _growling_ at the boy across from him?

"Pah! _You're_ the one making a scene, dog boy! Believe it!" shouted the _other_ eggroll contender. A messy haired blonde with blue eyes, he was wearing a black tank top with an orange hoodie tied around his waist and a pair of navy cargo shorts. He had... _whiskers_ on his face...

I won't lie, it was funny as hell watching them struggle over the food. That is, until they finally caught the attention of their fourth member and with a skill and swiftness unexpected from a guy his size, he snatched the eggroll off the plate and consumed it, _shamelessly_.

I had to bite my knuckle from laughing at the utterly _shocked_ looks on their faces, their ponytailed friend was not so subtle.

"CHOJI!" squawked the blonde.

' _Choji_ ' simply shrugged his shoulders, totally unrepentant. He was a large fellow with shaggy chestnut brown hair and a satisfied look on his face. He was wearing a black vest over a red short-sleeve. I could swear I could see swirls on his face.

 _'This is such a weird town.'_

After they settled down they paid for the check and stood up to leave, as they were getting up the guy with the red marks noticed me looking their way, his lips turned up into a grin and gave me a flirtatious look, causing my eyebrows to shoot up. He started to walk over to me but was intercepted by ponytail.

"C'mon dog boy, you're our ride." ponytail drawled, he grabbed ' _Dog boy_ ' by the collar of his shirt and started to lead him to the door, ignoring the boy's protests of being manhandled.

They filed out without much more fuss and when I turned back the old man from before was walking up with a bag and a large container of great smelling soup. I grabbed my wallet and paid up, after I thanked the man profusely I headed towards the door, my arms filled with goodies.

In hindsight, I should've been paying just _little_ more attention to my surroundings instead of the bottomless pit I call my stomach and I might've prevented what happened next...

"Shit! Guys, I forgot my wallet!"

Not _two minutes_ after leaving the restaurant with my dinner in hand just as I was turning a corner -drooling over my eggrolls- when I was _tackled_.

 _'So much for not having to worry about getting ran over.'_

Something hit me _hard_ , and I was thrown backward, landing ungracefully on my backside, and all my delicious food was sent flying. I felt like I was gonna murder a fool...

" _Owww..._ " came a recently familiar voice from in front of me.

"Oh, _nice one_ idiot!" yelled another recent voice, dripping with sarcasm.

I was thus far distracted by the pain of my ass hitting the stone to register that the soup I was previously holding, was now, all over my chest, and it was _hot_!

" _Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow! Hot-hot-hot!_ " I cried while standing up quick and pulling my tank top away from my now, sticky skin.

"Oh shit!" came the voice of the perpetrator. I looked up to see the blonde from before with a panicked expression on his face. "I'm _SOOO_ sorry, y'know! " he yelled. He frantically looked around until he spotted the napkins that had fallen out of the bag with my eggrolls. The blonde then fumbled around my chest and try to wipe the spill off of my shirt.

A bit taken back by the blondes actions I stumbled over my words, "Ahhh... it's, it's fine. You don't need to do that..." I mumbled, face burning from embarrassment. I distantly noticed the three other boys from before sitting in a truck a ways behind the blonde.

"Oi, idiot! Stop groping her chest!" yelled the boy with the red marks, a smirk clear on his face. The blonde glared at him until his words registered in his head and he jumped away from me like he'd been burned, looking mortified.

"I-I-I'M SORRYYYYYY!" he cried, hands grasping desperately at his hair, he had started drawing the attention of onlookers. The blonde was _officially_ panicking again, except now his face had turned an interesting shade of red.

Finally having regained some of my faculties, "Eh, it's no harm done. You were only trying to help." I waved my hand dismissively, "I should've been paying more attention." I finished with a small, embarrassed smile.

My nonchalant attitude seemed to have calmed him down some because his body visibly relaxed, "No, no. _I_ should've been paying more attention, y'know!" he replied with a sheepish smile and head scratch. "And I ruined your shirt too..."

I glanced down at my stained tank and before I could tell him it'll wash out fine, I felt a weight over my shoulders. When I looked back at him he'd already untied the hoodie from around his waist and placed it over my shoulders. "Here! You can wear my hoodie!" he said with a... _wow_ , what a smile.

"Ahh... thank you." I said awkwardly. I had no idea what to do. This kid ran into me, spilled hot soup over me and then gave me his jacket... things like this don't happen to normal people!

I stood there awkwardly for a moment trying to think of something, _anything_ to say when it seemed like he suddenly remembered something. "Ah! And I totally ruined your dinner too!" he despaired.

 _'Oh... right... dinner...'_

I tried not to frown, "It...it's fine, I wasn't that hungry anyways." I mumbled..

 _And_ as if on cue, my stomach growled. _Loudly._

I promptly, internally, cursed out traitorous organ while trying to ignore the burning of my ears, glaring at the ground. Fortunately -or unfortunately- he didn't seem put off by my dismissive attitude because he raised his fist in the air, "I'll make it up to you! Believe it!" he said determined, causing me to look up at him.

"Wha...?" I was at a loss for words. This kid was _bizarre_.

"I'll buy you dinner, y'know!" he _proclaimed_.

"That's... you, you don't have to do that." I tried.

He gave me an odd look, "Of _course_ I do!" he said as if that was _exactly_ what you did in this situation. Which it isn't by the way, back home if your food got knocked onto the ground all you'd get was a half-assed apology and left standing there, S.O.L.

"What would you like to eat?" he asked cheerily.

From the look on his face, I could tell I wasn't getting out of this without acting like a complete dick, and... _free food_ , so okay. "Um, I had a craving for soup...?"

If possible, his already bright smile went up in voltage, "Ah! I know _just_ the place then!" he said loudly.

"Yo! You gonna need a ride home or what?" shouted the ponytail from the passenger side of the truck.

The blonde turned around and waved back, "Nah! I'll walk home, see you guys in a couple days!" he shouted back.

And with that the other boys drove off and I began picking up the mess we made, the blonde quickly started to help me when something _very_ -probably- important occurred to me.

"Hey, I've gotta ask you one thing before we do anything though." I started slowly.

"Hm, what's up?" he asked with his big blue eyes. And wow were they _blue_...

"...what's your name?" I asked.

...I realized I couldn't just call him ' _Blonde_ ' forever, I was half-tempted to call him chopstick warrior, but decided against it.

He face turned totally blank before he promptly face-palmed. His hand moved up through his hair revealing a sheepish expression, "Ehehehe... sorry." he said before straightening up and sticking out his hand, "The name's Naruto Uzumaki! Nice to meet you, believe it!" he then gave one of those shiny grins.

Unable to stop myself from smiling myself, I took his hand and shook, "Nice to meet you too. Aerinn Sweet." I replied.

" _Sweet_?" he asked with a _hint_ of incredulousness.

"Yeah, yeah. It's a family name. And _before_ you start, I'll have you know I've heard it _all_ before." I said easily, but for some reason I don't think this kid is capable of saying lewd things. Out loud at least...

"Heheheh, I bet. But, at least you weren't named after a ramen topping, y'know!" he said just as easily.

"No way."

" _Yeeeeah..._ "

We finished clearing up the garbage and he lead the way to wherever he was taking me. Now, if I was wasn't _me_ then I'd be more wary about walking off with some, strange, good looking guy I'd met only a few minutes ago, _but_ , since I can break arms as easily as breaking a sweat, I wasn't too worried.

As it was, we stayed to public, well-lit streets and he struck up a conversation with me, as I shrugged on his hoodie, "I haven't seen you around before, did you just move here?" he asked.

"Yeah, just a few weeks ago actually. Though, I used to visit when I was younger, during the summers."

"Really? So, what do you think of Konoha so far?"

"It really nice... _nothing_ like my hometown."

"Yeah? Where's your hometown?"

"Born and raised in Ame, skyscrapers and concrete... and rain. So much _rain_!" I lamented with a sigh.

"Big city girl, eh? Well I hope you'll like staying here Aerinn, I can't imagine living anywhere other than Konoha, believe it." he said honestly.

"...I can see the appeal. I mean, I've only been here a few weeks and it's already starting to grow on me. There's just... somethin' about it."

"Yeah!" he agreed with a big grin, "So, will you be starting high school next week?" he asked curiously.

"Uh, yeah. Freshman at Kishimoto Academy." I nodded.

"No way! Same here, looks like we're gonna be classmates! This year is _definitely_ gonna be great, y'know!" he said energetically.

I was going to respond but he stopped abruptly and I had to react quickly so I didn't walk into him... again.

"We're here!" he exclaimed before walking under the curtain.

 _'...when did we walk into the mall?'_

I looked around and sure enough, we entered the mall sometime during our conversation and I was standing in front of a little shop, I glanced to the side saw a sign with Japanese writing, there was also bold letters underneath that read: _'Ichiraku's'_ in English.

I shrugged and followed the blonde in, he was sitting on a bar stool at a counter top, the shop itself wasn't very large, mostly a kitchen. There was soft, traditional Japanese music playing in the background. I took the seat next to Naruto, and as soon as I sat down a cute looking brunette waitress walked up to us.

"Hello Naruto! Nice to see you again." she asked cheerily. He's on a first name basis with the waitress?

"Hi Ayame! This is my friend Aerinn," he turned to me, "and Aerinn, get _whatever_ you like, it's my treat, y'know!"

"What's this? You bring a _daaaate_ Naruto?" she asked with a lightly teasing undertone. He must come here a _lot_ to be familiar with her.

Naruto turned that particular shade of red again and sputtered, "W-What?! _No_! I just ran into her ruined her dinner and her shirt and now I'm making up for it, believe it!" he explained quickly. Then he whirled around on me, "N-Not that I wouldn't bring you on a date or anything! It-it's just that I just met you and I don't really-know-you-but-you-seem-nice-and-all-" I raised my hand up to stop him before he passed out from either lack of blood considering the color of his face or from lack of oxygen to his brain.

He took a much needed inhale of breath, "If it's okay with you Naruto, I think I'd like to be friends?" The wild haired blonde grinned again and nodded happily. I turned back to the waitress, "Uhm... what do you serve...?" I finally asked.

' _Ayame_ ' shot Naruto a _look_ and it was clear on the blonde's face that he realized he had never said where we going _or_ what we were eating. "Whoops, eheheh..." he laughed sheepishly, then cleared his throat and straightened his posture,

"This, Aerinn. Is Ichiraku's, they serve the _best food in the_ _ **world**_ _._ Ramen, believe it!" he cheered.

"Ramen?" I repeated. He obviously has a fondness for ramen... and he was named after a ramen _topping_? Huh.

"Yup! Naruto here tends to exaggerate but he is our best customer." said a rumbly voice. An older man came out from the back room with a kind smile on his face. "Hello miss, I'm Teuchi, and this is my daughter Ayame. It's always nice to meet one of Naruto's friends." he said to me.

"Ah, yeah. Aerinn." I nodded in greeting.

"So what would you two like to eat?" Teuchi asked.

"The usual, old man!" Naruto replied happily.

Teuchi turned to me and I glanced up at the sign above... so many choices... "Ahh... I'll just have what he's having." I copped out.

Teuchi nodded, grabbed two bowls and walked back to the steaming pots and started serving us up. Naruto was practically buzzing next to me. I gave him a sideways glance, "Didn't you just eat a little while ago? Eggrolls, I recall?" I said wryly.

The blonde flushed lightly at the reminder, "Eheh, you saw that huh?"

"Yup." I said simply, a smile tugging a my lips.

And then Teuchi walked back with two bowls of piping hot ramen and set them in front of us. "Eat up!" he said.

Naruto snatched up a pair of chopsticks and cheered, "Itadakimasu!" very excitedly.

I eyed the bowl, it was _huge_ , it had egg and fish and other meats, vegetables too and it looked _too good_. I felt my mouth start to water. "Yeah, thank you for the meal." I said quickly, _and_ it smelled _divine_.

* * *

 _ **One mouthful of ramen later...**_

* * *

"...this is fucking delicious." I whispered in awe. I heard the low rumbling laughter of Teuchi and I gasped, "Pardon my language!" I sputtered.

He waved away the apology, "It's not a problem, I'm just glad you enjoy it." he said warmly.

I gave him a big grin and continued to wolf down my ramen and made a mental note to come back another time for more. By the time I had my third bite I heard a satisfied sigh from beside me, curious, I glance over only to have my jaw drop. The blonde had finished by the time I had _three_ bites.

"You finished _already_?" I asked in amazement.

"Eheheh, I can't help myself, y'know! It's just too good!" he replied setting his arms on the countertop. I couldn't argue with him though, it really _is_ good. So I nodded and went back to eating my ramen.

"So," Naruto started, "can I ask why you moved to Konoha?" he asked curiously, placing his chin into his hand.

"Ah, um... I," I swallowed my mouthful and decided on a _mostly_ true response, "I just needed a change in scenery is all. Ame has it's good points and everything but, I felt a bit... _stuck_ there I guess? If that makes any sense..."

"No, I get what you mean!" he said, "I went traveling around with my Godfather a couple years back, and it was incredible! I was only gone a year, but still, it sure felt good to be back in Konoha, y'know!" he said with obvious fondness and a smile on his face. But then it slowly disappeared and he looked a bit melancholy, "...it's weird how much can change in a year, though." he added quietly, almost to himself.

And for some unexplainable reason, I thought that sad look on his face was just _wrong_ , like it simply didn't belong there. So I scrambled to think of something to say, "Well..." I said as I intently watched my chopsticks stir my noodles, ignoring him look at me, "...change is _good_ sometimes. Take me for example, if I hadn't changed, then... I'd still be in Ame eating alone and I wouldn't have gotten the chance to eat this _incredible_ ramen with a cool guy I just met!" I said with a small smile.

For a moment he just looked at me and thought I'd just made a complete fool out of myself, then, he burst into that thousand-watt smile. "Yeah!" he said, melancholy mood totally forgotten. And I silently sighed in relief.

I finished my ramen and sighed in utter contentment. "That was fan-flippin'-tasic, thank you for meal Mister Teuchi! And thank you for taking me here Naruto." I said warmly.

"It's the least I could do for spilling your last one, y'know." he said with a bashful look, obviously remembering what happened less than an hour ago, he reached into his back pocket, paused, then started rummaging through _all_ the pockets in his cargo shorts. Then I remembered something I'd heard...

"Naruto... hadn't you been heading back into the Chinese restaurant when you ran into me...?" I asked.

His head hit the counter, "I'm such an IDIOOOOOOT! I left my wallet there and was going back to get it when I ran into you and everything happened and I forgot all about it!" he wailed.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his complete mood swing, it was an honest mistake, after all he _did_ get rather distracted. I started to pull out my wallet, more than happy to pay, the amazing food and surprisingly welcome conversation has left me warm and feeling better than I have in been in _months_.

As I opened my wallet, Teuchi only held up his hand, "No need Aerinn-san, tonight is on the house." he said good-naturedly. Yet again, surprising me, this town was _definitely_ not Ame.

"Ah! Thanks, old man!" Naruto sighed, very relieved.

"Yeah, thank you." I said sincerely.

He simply smiled and waved us goodbye as we got up. I decided I was totally coming back. Naruto and I walked out of the mall in companionable silence, basking in the after glow of a filling meal. When we reached the entrance I saw that the sun had completely set and the night had officially begun, I turned to him and smiled, "Thanks again for the meal, Naruto. I'm glad I ran into you." I said wryly.

He flushed a bit, "Heh, it's no problem. I'm glad I got to meet you!" he said honestly, "So, I guess I'll be seeing you around?"

"Ah, yeah. Next week probably. We might even be in the same classes."

"Awesome, believe it! I'll see you then!" he said before turning around and walking away.

Very amused, I called out to him before he had gotten too far away, "You should probably go get your wallet before the restaurant closes Naruto!" a smirk on my face.

He immediately did a U-turn and started jogging the other way, "Thanks Aerinn!" he called over his shoulder. Bringing a silly smile to my face.

 _'What a funny guy.'_

It was as I watched the blonde disappear into the evening crowds did I realize that I'd been smiling more in the past hour than I have the entire summer.

Still smiling, I walked home with a newfound hope for Konoha.

..

...

..

As I reached for my house keys I noticed something _odd_.

I was wearing an orange hoodie that wasn't mine.

 _'Whoops...'_

* * *

 **Chapter One: "Hot Starts and Fresh Ramen"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: Welp! That was it! I wrote this** _ **such**_ **a long time ago and just never found the inspiration for another chapter. I had the general plot in my head, still do, but it just never ended up on the page. And I have no current plans of continuing this. Sorry if you wanted a next Chapter!**

 **Oh, well. Hopefully it entertained you!**

 **Wuv yew! Thanks for reading!**

 _-Nanami_


End file.
